Vegetarian Recipes

I don't make paneer makhani very often because of the calories, particularly since I started working out to lose the baby weight. But today I had an excuse: I had leftover cream from making a white peach macadamia tart (which I'll share tomorrow), a bucket of freshly picked tomatoes and a bag of cashew nuts in the pantry.

I marinated the cubes of paneer prior to pan-frying them. The tangy flavor from the lemon juice, yogurt and cream balanced wonderfully with the sweetness from the tomato sauce. I didn't feel bad eating the dish because it was so good!

When I was asked to write Haute Potato (my first cookbook coming out this December), I tested more than 100 recipes, but only 75 gourmet potato dishes finally made it to print. This salad didn’t make the cut. I think it tastes wonderful, but it’s not as over the top as the recipes in the book. In the right setting though, it would make a lovely addition to your meal.

Served at room temperature with a vegetarian dipping sauce, they make the perfect summer entree. And speaking of summer, wrapping almost anything is a really great way to exercise portion control, which will do wonders for your bikini bod!

A tian is a Mediterranean dish, more specifically from Provence, which consists of thinly sliced vegetables slowly roasted in the oven. It could be made with any seasonally available ingredients such as artichokes, asparagus, eggplant, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, celery or mushrooms. I've also seen it made with meat or fish as well, but today I made a version that is very popular. It consists of garlic, tomatoes and zucchini, which happen to be fresh from our garden.

I arranged the three ingredients in a terra cotta dish and drizzled on a little olive oil with freshly chopped herbs. The dish is very easy to prepare, and tastes as good as it looks. If you love cooking with farm fresh ingredients, don't forget to check out Full Circle. We're giving away one box this week. One lucky winner will get a free box of organic farm fresh home-delivered produce. To enter, just type your name and email address into the box below. The winner can choose any size box. The largest Full Circle offers is Harvest, which is $42 in CA, $45 in WA/ID, and $56 in AK (shipping not included outside of Anchorage).

A few months ago, I met with my friend Steve from the Milk Pail Market in Mountain view. He's better known to locals as the cheese expert. On that day, I tasted a wide variety of cheeses. Some of them made me reminiscent of my childhood in France, while others were intriguing and unusual. In particular, there was a vibrant yellow cheese I had never seen before. It's called Thai Curry Cheddar cheese. Since Steve knew that I love mixing cultures and flavors, he thought I'd like it.

Of course, like most cheddars, this cheese could be enjoyed with sliced apples and a crusty bread as a snack. But I wanted to really play up the fusion of cultures represented in the cheese, so I used the cheddar to create a Thai-inspired béchamel sauce that would pair wonderfully with any pasta. Good thing Steve gave me some of his new ravioli to bring home!

Instead of using good ol' nutmeg for the white sauce, I flavored it with melted Thai Curry Cheddar cheese, turmeric, ground coriander, ground fennel, freshly grated ginger, ground fenugreek, a touch of cumin and a fresh bay leaf. The result is an aromatic taste with the richness from the cheese. It was a great addition to sautéed ravioli.

If you're not lucky enough to live down the street from a great grocer like Steve, you should enter our Full Circle giveaway. We're going to pick one lucky winner this week to get a free box of organic farm fresh produce delivered to your home. To enter, just type your name into the box below. The winner can choose any size box. The largest Full Circle offers is Harvest, which is $42 in CA, $45 in WA/ID, and $56 in AK (shipping not included outside of Anchorage).